A young woman longing for a child stumbles upon a Christmas miracle.
Investigative journalist Scottie Darden is photographing the homeless for her Lost Souls series when she makes a discovery that could change her life forever. Under a makeshift tent in subzero temperatures in a downtown city park, she finds a woman’s dead body with her infant child. Without her cell phone to call for help, Scottie makes the split-second decision to take the baby home. Her initial instinct is to provide the baby with food and shelter until her family can be located. But as her fondness for the baby grows, she finds herself facing a life on the run or worse—prison time for abduction.
Curl up with Merry Mary this holiday season. A heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.
Excerpt:
“Shh, don’t
cry,” she said, rubbing the baby’s tummy.
What would
become of the baby? Scottie didn’t think the Commonwealth had the
authority to place the baby up for adoption without permission of
next of kin, which meant the baby would be placed in a foster home
until the police could track down the father. If the father even
wanted the child. If the father even knew he was the father.
The baby
began to wail, presumably with hunger. “Don’t worry, little one.”
She picked the baby up and held her tight. “We’ll get it all
sorted out. In the meantime, I have plenty of formula and diapers to
keep you comfortable.”
By the time
Scottie got the baby inside, and mixed up a bottle from the supplies
in her baby cabinet in the kitchen, the little girl was screaming,
flailing her arms and legs in hunger. Scottie plopped down on the
leather sofa in the adjoining family room, propped her snow boots up
on the coffee table, and brought the bottle’s nipple to the baby’s
mouth. The infant took the nipple between her lips, then thrust it
back out with her tongue. Scottie turned the bottle upside down on
her arm, letting a few drops of formula leak from the hole in the
nipple, before returning the nipple to the baby’s lips. When she
tasted the formula, the baby began to suck greedily.
“Careful
now, baby girl. Don’t drink too fast or you’ll upset your tummy.”
The baby stared up at Scottie with bright eyes. “We need to give
you a name, don’t we?”
Scottie had
been in the process of picking out names for her baby when her
daughter was stillborn at thirty-one weeks. She’d been torn between
Kate and Liza, after her grandmothers Katherine and Elizabeth. She
ended up calling the baby Angel, which seemed appropriate for an
innocent child who never drew her first breath.
Scottie’s
eyes traveled the room, coming to rest on the nativity scene on the
mantle above the fireplace. “Why don’t we call you Mary after the
Virgin Mary?” She caught sight of the needlepoint pillow Brad had
brought down from the attic—a green background with Merry Christmas
in curlicue script in red across the front. “Or Merry, which seems
appropriate for a spunky little girl like you.”
The baby
stopped sucking and smiled up at her.
“I agree,”
Scottie said. “I like them both as well. Merry Mary it is, then.
Interview with Ashley Farley for Merry Mary
Tell
us about Merry
Mary
in one sentence.
Merry
Mary
is a
heartwarming story about the powerful connection between a caring
soul and an innocent child in need.
What
do you think readers will enjoy most about your story?
I
hope readers, especially mothers, will identify with my protagonist’s
desperate longing for a child and empathize with the decisions she
makes. I also believe they will enjoy the close relationship Scottie
shares with her brother, Will.
Are
you working on a new novel?
Yes,
the sequel to Merry
Mary,
which I plan to release in Spring 2016. My currently untitled WIP is
a full-length romantic political suspense starring Scottie, Will and
the charming Guy Jordan.
Who
or what was the inspiration for your story?
I
created my protagonist, photojournalist Scottie Darden, out of my
love for photography and my desire to see the world. Understanding
some of the technical aspects of photography adds credibility to my
story. All of my plots focus on familial relationships. My first
novel, Saving
Ben,
which I wrote as a tribute to my brother who died of a drug overdose
in 1999, depicts a college-aged brother and sister. Her
Sister’s Shoes
portrays three middle-age sisters struggling to balance the demands
of career and home while remaining true to themselves. Scottie Darden
shares a close relationship with her brother In Merry
Mary
and the upcoming sequel. Certain aspects of their relationship remind
me of my brother and me, but mostly I created them out of the special
bond between my own children, who are close in age—21 and 20—as
well as spirit.
What
is your favorite thing to do to get ready for the holidays?
Definitely
not shopping. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, I put my
small artificial tree up in the corner of my kitchen, where I spend
most of my time, and decorate it with food-related ornaments. I enjoy
this tree so much more than the live tree I put up in the living
room, which stresses me out and makes me a bah humbug.
Movie?
I’ve seen
The Holiday
with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black at least a
dozen times. Jack Black is lovable. Cameron Diaz wears the most
amazing clothes. And Jude Law steels my heart every time when he
cries at the end.
Novel?
The
Christmas Train
by David Baldacci. Disillusioned journalist Tom Langon meets a host
of interesting characters as he travels from Washington to Los
Angeles by train for Christmas.
Song?
Mariah
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”
Author Bio:
Ashley Farley is a wife and mother of two college-aged children. She grew up in the salty marshes of South Carolina, but now lives in Richmond, Virginia, a city she loves for its history and traditions.
After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save. SAVING BEN is not a memoir, but a story about the special bond between siblings.
HER SISTER'S SHOES—June 24, 2015—is a women's novel that proves the healing power of family.
Look for MERRY MARY this holiday season, a heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.
After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save. SAVING BEN is not a memoir, but a story about the special bond between siblings.
HER SISTER'S SHOES—June 24, 2015—is a women's novel that proves the healing power of family.
Look for MERRY MARY this holiday season, a heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.
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